Exceptionally low likelihood of Alzheimer's dementia in APOE2 homozygotes from a 5,000-person neuropathological study
- PMID: 32015339
- PMCID: PMC6997393
- DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-14279-8
Exceptionally low likelihood of Alzheimer's dementia in APOE2 homozygotes from a 5,000-person neuropathological study
Abstract
Each additional copy of the apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4) allele is associated with a higher risk of Alzheimer's dementia, while the APOE2 allele is associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer's dementia, it is not yet known whether APOE2 homozygotes have a particularly low risk. We generated Alzheimer's dementia odds ratios and other findings in more than 5,000 clinically characterized and neuropathologically characterized Alzheimer's dementia cases and controls. APOE2/2 was associated with a low Alzheimer's dementia odds ratios compared to APOE2/3 and 3/3, and an exceptionally low odds ratio compared to APOE4/4, and the impact of APOE2 and APOE4 gene dose was significantly greater in the neuropathologically confirmed group than in more than 24,000 neuropathologically unconfirmed cases and controls. Finding and targeting the factors by which APOE and its variants influence Alzheimer's disease could have a major impact on the understanding, treatment and prevention of the disease.
Conflict of interest statement
E.B.L. receives royalties from UpToDate, and the other authors declare no competing interests.
Figures

Similar articles
-
Differential Signaling Mediated by ApoE2, ApoE3, and ApoE4 in Human Neurons Parallels Alzheimer's Disease Risk.J Neurosci. 2019 Sep 11;39(37):7408-7427. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2994-18.2019. Epub 2019 Jul 22. J Neurosci. 2019. PMID: 31331998 Free PMC article.
-
Humanized APOE genotypes influence lifespan independently of tau aggregation in the P301S mouse model of tauopathy.Acta Neuropathol Commun. 2023 Jun 19;11(1):99. doi: 10.1186/s40478-023-01581-2. Acta Neuropathol Commun. 2023. PMID: 37337279 Free PMC article.
-
Reduction in DHA transport to the brain of mice expressing human APOE4 compared to APOE2.J Neurochem. 2014 May;129(3):516-26. doi: 10.1111/jnc.12640. Epub 2014 Jan 29. J Neurochem. 2014. PMID: 24345162
-
A multi-hit hypothesis for an APOE4-dependent pathophysiological state.Eur J Neurosci. 2022 Nov;56(9):5476-5515. doi: 10.1111/ejn.15685. Epub 2022 Jun 6. Eur J Neurosci. 2022. PMID: 35510513 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Apolipoprotein E and oxidative stress in brain with relevance to Alzheimer's disease.Neurobiol Dis. 2020 May;138:104795. doi: 10.1016/j.nbd.2020.104795. Epub 2020 Feb 6. Neurobiol Dis. 2020. PMID: 32036033 Free PMC article. Review.
Cited by
-
Sex-dependent effect of APOE on Alzheimer's disease and other age-related neurodegenerative disorders.Dis Model Mech. 2020 Aug 27;13(8):dmm045211. doi: 10.1242/dmm.045211. Dis Model Mech. 2020. PMID: 32859588 Free PMC article. Review.
-
APP-Induced Patterned Neurodegeneration Is Exacerbated by APOE4 in Caenorhabditis elegans.G3 (Bethesda). 2020 Aug 5;10(8):2851-2861. doi: 10.1534/g3.120.401486. G3 (Bethesda). 2020. PMID: 32580938 Free PMC article.
-
Effects of obesogenic diet and 17β-estradiol in female mice with APOE 3/3, 3/4, and 4/4 genotypes.Front Aging Neurosci. 2024 Sep 13;16:1415072. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2024.1415072. eCollection 2024. Front Aging Neurosci. 2024. PMID: 39347015 Free PMC article.
-
Genetic Phenotypes of Alzheimer's Disease: Mechanisms and Potential Therapy.Phenomics. 2023 Apr 3;3(4):333-349. doi: 10.1007/s43657-023-00098-x. eCollection 2023 Aug. Phenomics. 2023. PMID: 37589021 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Apolipoprotein E genotype affects innate susceptibility to Listeria monocytogenes infection in aged male mice.Infect Immun. 2023 Sep 14;91(9):e0025123. doi: 10.1128/iai.00251-23. Epub 2023 Aug 18. Infect Immun. 2023. PMID: 37594272 Free PMC article.
References
Publication types
MeSH terms
Substances
Grants and funding
- RF1 AG051504/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- P30 AG010161/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- R01 AG061796/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- U01 AG046139/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- R01 AG030653/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- G0901254/MRC_/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom
- R01 AG064877/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- P30 AG010124/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- P30 AG066518/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- MR/L501542/1/MRC_/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom
- U01 AG058922/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- P30 AG010133/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- U24 AG021886/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- G-0907/PUK_/Parkinson's UK/United Kingdom
- G0701075/MRC_/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom
- U01 AG032984/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- P30 AG062421/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- UL1 TR002369/TR/NCATS NIH HHS/United States
- P50 AG008702/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- U24 AG056270/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- R01 AG017917/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- P30 AG062429/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- RF1 AG054023/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- P50 AG005136/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- P01 AG019724/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- P30 AG066462/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- P30 AG062715/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- RF1 AG015473/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- P30 AG019610/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- MR/N026004/1/MRC_/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom
- RF1 AG057902/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
- R01 AG015819/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Medical
Miscellaneous